<p>A Calgary Flames prospect is making the jump from Canadian major junior hockey to the NCAA for next season. After weeks (and weeks) of chatter, blueliner Henry Mews has officially committed to the University of Michigan for the 2025-26 season.</p>
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<p>Mews announced his commitment on social media on Sunday afternoon.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Excited to announce my commitment to play at the University of Michigan next season. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/goblue?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#goblue</a>〽️ <a href="https://t.co/TDukD3DBIA">pic.twitter.com/TDukD3DBIA</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Henry Mews (@Mewsy88) <a href="https://twitter.com/Mewsy88/status/1911516943355646356?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 13, 2025</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>The 19-year-old Mews is a right shot defender from the Ottawa area. <a href="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/2024/06/29/calgary-flames-select-henry-mews-at-74th-overall-in-2024-nhl-draft/">He was the Flames&#8217; third-round selection in the 2024 NHL Draft</a>. He broke into the Ontario Hockey League with the Ottawa 67&#8217;s in 2022-23, and in three seasons he&#8217;s progressed pretty consistently each season.</p>
<ul>
<li>In 2022-23, as a 16-year-old, he had 31 points in 55 games (0.564 points per game) with Ottawa</li>
<li>In 2023-24, as a 17-year-0ld, he had 61 points in 65 games (0.938 points per game) with Ottawa</li>
<li>In 2024-25, as an 18-year-old, he had 82 points in 68 games (1.206 points per game) with Ottawa and Sudbury</li>
</ul>
<p>Mews finished third in the OHL in points by a blueliner this past season, behind only Flames first-rounder Zayne Parekh and Sharks first-rounder Sam Dickinson. He had a really strong season.</p>
<p>So here&#8217;s the problem, though: Mews is a 2006-born player, and you have to be born in 2005 or earlier to be allowed to play in the American Hockey League next season. Considering that Mews progressed so much over the past three seasons, you can argue that he needs to face tougher competition to be challenged next season. Well, the good news is that he&#8217;ll be able to be challenged against grown men in college next season.</p>
<p><a href="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/2025/01/22/the-nhl-signing-rights-of-college-bound-major-junior-players-are-surprisingly-straightforward/">In terms of NHL signing rights, under the terms of the CBA</a>, when a player drafted out of junior moves onto college during the first two years after their selection, the rules for their signing rights revert to the college rules (based on how the CBA is worded). In other words, the Flames hold Mews&#8217; rights until the Aug. 15 following his graduation or departure from college – which could be as late as 2029. So essentially Mews going to Michigan gives him a place to be challenged, a chance to pursue his education, and pushes his signing deadline back by up to three years.</p>
<p>Mews joins fellow Flames prospects Trevor Hoskin (Merrimack College), Eric Jamieson (University of Denver) and Cade Littler (University of North Dakota) in the college ranks for the 2025-26 season. We&#8217;ll see if Arsenii Sergeev (Penn State University) stays in college for his senior year or opts to go pro.</p>
<p><strong>Sponsored by bet365:</strong></p>
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A Calgary Flames prospect is making the jump from Canadian major junior hockey to the NCAA for next season. After weeks (and weeks) of chatter, blueliner Henry Mews has officially committed to the University of Michigan for the 2025-26 season.
<div class="bam-inline-promotion-block" data-max-length="2" data-placement-id="2109" data-context="web-content-promocard" data-property-id="328"></div>
Mews announced his commitment on social media on Sunday afternoon.

https://twitter.com/Mewsy88/status/1911516943355646356

The 19-year-old Mews is a right shot defender from the Ottawa area. <a href="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/2024/06/29/calgary-flames-select-henry-mews-at-74th-overall-in-2024-nhl-draft/">He was the Flames' third-round selection in the 2024 NHL Draft</a>. He broke into the Ontario Hockey League with the Ottawa 67's in 2022-23, and in three seasons he's progressed pretty consistently each season.
<ul>
 	<li>In 2022-23, as a 16-year-old, he had 31 points in 55 games (0.564 points per game) with Ottawa</li>
 	<li>In 2023-24, as a 17-year-0ld, he had 61 points in 65 games (0.938 points per game) with Ottawa</li>
 	<li>In 2024-25, as an 18-year-old, he had 82 points in 68 games (1.206 points per game) with Ottawa and Sudbury</li>
</ul>
Mews finished third in the OHL in points by a blueliner this past season, behind only Flames first-rounder Zayne Parekh and Sharks first-rounder Sam Dickinson. He had a really strong season.

So here's the problem, though: Mews is a 2006-born player, and you have to be born in 2005 or earlier to be allowed to play in the American Hockey League next season. Considering that Mews progressed so much over the past three seasons, you can argue that he needs to face tougher competition to be challenged next season. Well, the good news is that he'll be able to be challenged against grown men in college next season.

<a href="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/2025/01/22/the-nhl-signing-rights-of-college-bound-major-junior-players-are-surprisingly-straightforward/">In terms of NHL signing rights, under the terms of the CBA</a>, when a player drafted out of junior moves onto college during the first two years after their selection, the rules for their signing rights revert to the college rules (based on how the CBA is worded). In other words, the Flames hold Mews' rights until the Aug. 15 following his graduation or departure from college – which could be as late as 2029. So essentially Mews going to Michigan gives him a place to be challenged, a chance to pursue his education, and pushes his signing deadline back by up to three years.

Mews joins fellow Flames prospects Trevor Hoskin (Merrimack College), Eric Jamieson (University of Denver) and Cade Littler (University of North Dakota) in the college ranks for the 2025-26 season. We'll see if Arsenii Sergeev (Penn State University) stays in college for his senior year or opts to go pro.

<strong>Sponsored by bet365:</strong>
<div class="bam-inline-promotion" data-property-id="328" data-promotion-id="19111" data-context="web-content-promocard"></div>

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